Pheasant Mounting Size

[Woolybugger]

I was wondering if anyone has opinions on what to look for in a rooster when deciding whether to mount one or send it to the roasting pan? Spur length? Tail Length? Color - body or head?

[huskie0302]

Personally I would mount anyone that you think looks unique or what you think would be a cool mount. Plus If you have one mounted it will get you pumped during the offseason!!!

[Jeremiah Johnson]

you really cant go wrong with a rooster, they are beautiful birds, but I would look for the tail length, color scheme of the feathers and how good of shape it is in after you shoot it

[Walleye Guy]

In my opinion getting the right rooster to mount is a really tough challenge. First I definitely want birds that are second and possibly third year birds. These birds are definitely larger is size and have long spurs. Third year birds are very tough to harvest as they are very scarce and very smart. Another thing is to get one that isn't shot up too bad. Pheasants have fairly thin skin and loose feather fairly easily and shotgun pellets can damage them fairly easily. The third thing is the dogs retrieve. Even soft mouth dogs remove a few feathers and can bust up tail feathers.

Carry a women's nylon stocking with you in your hunting coat. If you bag one you want to get mounted slide the bird in the nylon head first. It keep the feathers tight to the body and helps minimize any damage.

[mamohr686]

I would only mount a bird taken later in the season. Each year birds molt their feathers and are replaced each spring. Birds taken in the early season have more pin feathers and don't fill out a mount as much. You can age a bird primarily by the spurs. Look for long curved spurs with white tips for 3 y.o. + birds. Long tail feathers are a plus, and they get longer as the season goes on. Pheasants make cool mounts and I prefer a standing pose. I'll agree that if you get a big one your thinking about mounting pick one that isn't shot up and retrieve it yourself if you can.

My taxidermist disagrees with using a nylon, he said that bloody feathers stick to them and get ripped off. I was told to use a large size freezer bag and double bag it with ducks. With pheasants I woudn't bag it, just leave it out and protect the tail feathers.

[2 DA GILLS]

Another factor to consider is if there is a story behind the bird. I have a rooster that was an older bird, but not real old. He has good color and tail feathers, but it was the story of how he was harvested that sealed the deal for going on the wall.

We were headed back to the truck across a picked bean field. There were 3 of us and the guns were on slings and on our backs. As we approached some mowed cattails, I said be ready birds like to hold in this stuff as a joke. There was not a speck of real cover for 100 yards. Two seconds later a rooster came busting out of the cattail stubble under our feet. My youngest brother was able to get his gun off his shoulder first and unloaded his gun - clean miss all three times. I finally managed to get my gun to my shoulder and fired a single shot at 60+ yards. The rooster dropped like a stone. A single pellet to the head. Good clean kill, very little blood and a 100 yard walk to the truck. It had to go on the wall.

[gspman]

It doesn't matter what size or spur/tail length. It's totally your call. Most of my taxidermy mounts are not the biggest or the best of what I've shot or caught. All of them have a unique story to them and that's why they were mounted.

[jigging-matt]

I have had some nice birds in the past that I thought about mounting and didn't. Now that I have my Brit, I am sure there will be a day where he points a bird and they story that follows will prompt me to want to get the bird mounted. Unless it is a really young bird, pheasants are a beautiful bird and when done right look great for years, doesn't matter on the size of their tail.

[09ultra]

I agree with most posts there is usually a story behind the bird you get mounted, not always the biggest one>

[Jarrod32]

I mounted one and wasn't concerned with how big it was...it had good color to it, and was obviously at least a couple years old.